So, congratulations once again to Square Enix for excreting another Not-Quite-Final-Fantasy title like a diarrhetic with a bowl of fruit and a raw egg smoothie. Looking at the upside this at least buys us time until Japan finally decides we're ripe enough to receive Final Fantasy 13 and begin working on the English translation. Of course the downside to this is that it looks like some Fat Cat conglomerate idea to make us all buy wishy-washy titles until we get the game we actually want to play – but you didn't hear it from me, I don't bloody want the Yakuza knocking at my door.

That said, The Last Remnant was pretty good. Not great, but strong enough to keep me entertained if I glossed over the things I'd expect in a Final Fantasy (Other than X2 and bits of 12's storyline) title. The Last Remnant is a game largely based on taking their famous turn-based system, removing the ability to make in-depth choices and replacing it with a single-choice squad-based combat system, where the player makes a couple of choices and instigates a couple of key presses now and again for bonus critical hit damage (think “quick time events”).

You play this kid called Rush Sykes who's looking for his sister, who in turn has been kidnapped by some waddling, robe wearing sycophant with a posh accent. He stumbles across a battle while doing so and bumps into the presiding ruler of the area who Rush insists on calling “Dave”. From there you all become pals and try to stop the End of The World as per usual.

A Remnant is an object of power that someone can bind themselves to in order to use it, of which there are numerous scattered throughout the world, but only a handful of really powerful ones it would seem. A couple of which end up in your possession to blat enemies with, albeit in a somewhat convoluted way. You see, generally speaking they've taken some elements from previous games and meshed them all together. While with The Last Remnant we're talking about a squad-based situation when it comes to fighting, the menus are one-click wonders. This means that as far as pulling moves off, healing enemies or removing status ailments goes it can be more confusing even though they've simplified it. If I'm poisoned I want to choose a Remedy from my item menu... but I can't. You have to have that skill set, which is never really explained. It's something you gain as you level up in certain fields.

I think this is probably one of the most frustrating elements of the game. I can't say I even mind warping around the map, or completing quests which take you instantly to the location and back again on completion. I'd just like the basic, un-watered menu back. For the most part you can choose to attack, attack with special abilities or attack with this worlds equivalent magic. As you can imagine, most fights are simply tap... tap... tap. It's only the intervention of the Quick Time Events that add any form of stimulation. Putting all this aside, the encounters themselves can be impressive in size as well as number, and with the graphics being quite pretty it's at least got that epic eye-candy feel to it. The amount you fight at one time can be increased for greater rewards simply by running into more on the map. To make this easier they've given Rush the ability to slow time, so tapping a few critters and instigating the encounter is a bit easier.

As your main storyline unfolds, the opportunity to complete side quests and other advancements opens up. Obtaining new members for your Unions (squads) and finding components to make new shiny stuff are probably the 2 main things to occupy your time. Obtaining new Union members is as easy as walking into a Guildhouse and purchasing one. You can then assign that member to a Union and adjust that Union's formation to suit should you wish. With components you get to make new items. Components can be bought, found or obtained by splitting monsters. After some encounters you'll sometimes capture one of them, which you can either sell to a vendor for some decent cash, or split it to obtain it's components. Sometimes this can be extremely useful, particularly if you're after a rare component to make something special.

The extensive collectable element of the game is certainly it's big upside. I can't say that the characters have gripped me as refreshing and new. Rush is pretty much Tidus from Final Fantasy 10, who was a blonde haired numpty that I couldn't relate to either. However, it is nice to see Square Enix breaking outside the box of “humans only” in The Last Remnant as a variety of races is certainly more interesting.

No, I'd say on the whole the game is one that I'd want to keep playing. It's spiked my interest enough to go out and do a few quests and collect a few items – but it's not Final Fantasy 13 is it...